12-year-old Yannik shines in Scotland
Little Sri Lanka found a ‘small made’ star in the making. Already, he is bringing Sri Lanka pride and attention, finishing ‘8th’ in the European Junior Golf Championship 2018, played at “Glen Golf Club” in Edinburgh, Scotland, the home of the Headquarters of World Golf the R&A (Royal & Ancient).
12-year-old Yannik, stoutly built, boasts of an excellent sporting pedigree, being the grandson of renowned Tennis Ace P.S. Kumara, a National Tennis star in his day.
Yannik Kumara having won his age category in the P&S Junior Championship 2017, Regional Junior Championship events, encouraged by his dad Senaka Kumara and Coached meticulously by Jehan De Saram (RCGC Golf Professional) for over 6 years now, ventured into international competition, when he played in the Malaysian World Junior Championship in December 2017, under the US Kids Golf Programme. Yannik finished 10th in his age category from among 30 Juniors, mainly from the United States including the World No. 1 & 2 Ranked players.
The US Kids Golf World Championship programme is on invitation, and Yannik received an invitation to play in the European Junior Golf Championship 2018 in Edinburgh Scotland, thanks to his performance in Malaysia, with a total of 66 Juniors in the 12 and under age category, including the top ranked Juniors in the US Kids Golf World programme.
Yannik performed brilliantly, considering the conditions and a challenging Golf Course, as a debutant in the World Junior Golf stage. Yannik returned a 2 round aggregate of 4 over par, to finish a creditable 8th overall and was also, the only Asian in the top 10 among Juniors from Mexico, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Latvia, Slovenia, India, Thailand and, UK and the US with the most number of entries. The winner, Joshua Bai from New Zealand, was total 8 under par, illustrating the high standard of Junior Golf. Yannik’s incredible performance in Scotland earned him an invitation to play in the US Kids Golf World Championship at Pinehurst, USA in July 2018, but due to lack of time to make arrangements, Yannik missed out.
When asked of his thoughts on Yannik’s performance so far? Proud Dad Senaka Kumara said, “Yannik is up there with the best Juniors in the world, and with more experience, he can make it to the Top”. The next obvious question was “What is next and what is the plan going ahead?” Senaka confirmed that Yannik plays Golf 5-6 days a week, under the watchful eye of Jehan. He will be working on a few areas to improve further. As for events, the Coach and Dad plan to give more international exposure to Yannik, with the second half of 2018 mapped out to play in international events coming up in Malaysia, Thailand etc. The major Junior events in Sri Lanka too, including the Regional Junior Championship events will be on the calendar.
In conclusion, Senaka and Yannik showered high praise on Coach Jehan De Saram, saying that Yannik’s technique and progress is all thanks to Coach Jehan. Senaka also added a word of praise and thanks to the Sri Lanka Golf Union for the support extended to Yannik to participate in International events especially, to obtain the invitation to play in the Malaysian World Championship, which was the reason Yannik earned an invitation to the European Junior Championship.
Yannik Kumara is a determined, confident, hard working youngster, with a mature sporting head on his broad shoulders. Bubbling with talent and a happy smile, he is destined to turn Professional and achieve his ambition of becoming a top Golf Professional on the World stage.
Yannik, a Grade7 student at Colombo International School (CIS) spends his spare time on Tennis and Football, not to mention studies and homework.